Fallen Secrets
by Accio Truth
Summary: Luka is not from the Avatar's world-she has just fallen into it. In the world at war, she soon finds that she has a dangerous secret. With the only clue being an image of a boy with an arrow on his head, she sets out to find him, to find herself. OC/Aang
1. Falling Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the original characters.**

Chapter One

Falling Down

I walked into the living room where my older sister had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the tv. It was late, around midnight, and my sister's show was still flashing in the dark. I didn't know what it was. All I saw was a bald kid in an iceberg, with a strange arrow on his forehead, Whatever it was, it didn't look too bad so I sat down and watched a little bit of the episode.

That was when the tv turned off and the hum of the house's electrical appliances stopped.

It wasn't that big of a deal, just a blackout of some kind. Groping around in the dark, I looked for the remote but couldn't find it. I went toward the tv to check, when suddenly something knocked me over _into_ the screen. But there wasn't any screen. I started falling from what seemed to be really high because I was picking up speed fast. I tried to scream but I couldn't hear myself cause the wind whipped it and took it away too fast. I flailed my limbs about. At first it was dark, but then it became really light. A landscape spread out below me, with craggy cliffs, mountains and grass everywhere, as far as I could see.

That was when I closed my eyes in fear. _I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..._I whimpered to myself in my head. I guess I'd always wanted to know what clouds felt like, just not like this. I covered my head out of pure fear and braced myself for impact.

I hit the ground hard, and it knocked the breath out of me. Breathing heavily, I grasped my stomach and stood up as best I could. I looked up and almost screamed. In front of me were two orange eyes. I smiled weakly at the man with strange warlike garments on.

"Your under arrest in the name of Fire Lord Ozai!" The bulky man yelled at me. With that he motioned to two guards who nodded and grabbed both of my arms.

"I didn't do anything!" I yelled, scrambling everywhere while trying to break free. "And ow," I continued, looking over at the man on my left, "do you think you could loosen up? I'll be lucky to have this arm after you've squeezed it to death." The guards seemed taken aback at my bold words, like they had never seen someone talk like that to them before. They loosened their grip in surprise for just a second. But a second was all I needed.

I kicked one in the shin, and he let go and yelped as he started hopping on one foot. Meanwhile, I lashed out with my now free hand and pushed the other man off of me easily. I ran in the opposite direction of the man who had spoken to me first, Looking back every now and then. "Halt!" They called. I was still in shock. Where was I? If I had died from the fall, heaven seemed a lot cruder then I had imagined it. No, I couldn't be dead, though. I hurt too much to be dead. Taking a sharp turn into a hidden crevice in one of the cliff sides, I caught my breath and prayed I wouldn't be found.

The men ran past me, not even glancing in my direction. I sighed with relief. Even though I knew they were gone, I still waited a few minutes before I moved at all. Looking into where I had turned, I saw it didn't end where I was standing. It started small, but as you walked, the passageway grew bigger, and it seemed to go on forever. Keeping a hand on the cool rock, I walked down the rock until I stopped in front of a great, wide space That seemed to almost had been carved out of the rock.

I gasped. Everywhere I looked, there were huts and cottages. The nicer ones had small chimneys with small puffs of smoke coming out of the top. People roamed about everywhere in strange clothing that seemed to have the same green color scheme. Most were adults, but there were some smaller children too. I took a few more steps before I stopped an old woman walking by with a basket of fruit. "Excuse me, ma'am," I said, as polite as I could manage. "Where are we?" Before responding, she looked me up and down. I realized that I was still in my pajamas. I had on a large gray shirt and a pair of pink cotton capris. I flushed with embarrassment.

She seemed to notice me turn red and she seemed to become a bit kinder. "Are you a traveler, dear?" She asked, smiling. "Not fire nation, I would hope?"

"Fire...nation?" I mustered. She nodded.

"We're a group of rebels. Some benders, some fighters. Fighting against the fire nation, we are," she said, very proudly. When the only emotion I showed was confusion, she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, my. You really are lost, aren't you? Where are you from, dear?"

I gulped. I couldn't just tell her where I was from. I'd sound like a world class lunatic. "Water nation?" I lied, hoping with all my heart that such a place existed. The woman chuckled a bit, motioning me to walk with her. "I suppose you mean the Water Tribe," she said, which I awarded with a nod. She smiled. "Are you a bender, too?" She asked. I nodded yet again. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I was pretty sure I could bend some stuff. At lunch I could always bend the plastic utensils in half.

Soon we came upon a small clearing where people were doing amazing things, things I had never seen before! Most people were making earth fly, but a few were making water fly through the air. The old woman called over one of the boys making water fly through the air. "Finn!" She called, waving him over to stand by her.

He came over and smiled at the woman. "Granny," he said smiling, and then looking at me. "And who is this?" He asked, curious.

"I'm Luka," I said quickly. For some reason I had decided not to lie about my name. The woman clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Luka is a waterbender!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Just like you, my grandson!" Finn smiled and looked at me. Happiness was in his eyes. It was strange, the way he looked at me-it almost scared me a bit.

"Well," he said, finally breaking the silence. "Go ahead. Waterbend. Show me what you can do!"

_...To Be continued_

( But yeah, I know that this might seem like a bit of a repetitive theme to write about, but I really wanted to try it out for myself so...ta da! Even if nobody reads it, well yeah. Please R&R though, I really wanna hear what you think. Oh and by the way, I know it's a bit short and I apologize about that. )


	2. Secrets

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the original characters.**

Chapter Two

Secrets

"Well," Finn said, finally breaking the silence. "Go ahead. Waterbend. Show me what you can do!"

Once again I tried to wrap my head around what had just been said. Obviously there was a misunderstanding. But there was a part of me-after seeing Finn look at me with such strange hope in his eyes, I felt like I owed him something. So, trying to keep serious looking as I squatted into an uncomfortable fighting position I had been taught in karate, I took a deep breath before I closed my eyes and jabbed my hand forward, not knowing what I was waiting for.

It was anti-climatic to say the least. As I reached the end of the movement, there was silence as a bit of confusion fell over the two behind me. I could feel myself going a bit red as I straightened back up and turned around, giving an unsure look to the two of them.

"Luka...are you sure your a waterbender?" Finn asked the words and I looked up at him, biting my lip. I made my decision quick.

"Yeah, totally," I lied. "I'm just a bit rusty. I'm sure after staying here a few days I'll be perfectly fine." A little smile crept back onto Finn's face at the words, as well as a bit of relief.

"That must be it," he agreed, turning back to the woman he had called granny. "Isn't there an extra hut at the far side of the village open?"

The words brought a slight smile to the wrinkled face, her head turning toward farther down the village. I leaned over, looking over where she looked, although I didn't see anything different, just row after row of huts. Biting my lip, I turned back to the woman. "We have an open place just down there," she explained, beginning to walk and gesturing me to follow. I walked behind her, watching as Finn caught up to her side. "I'm afraid it's not the most luxurious of places, but it'll have to do for now."

The three of us walked in silence, and I took notice of all of the different people of the village. I wondered what stories these people had, against the "fire nation" so it seemed. I had no idea where I was other then a guess that I was in the show I had seen, and a with a small stab of regret I wished that I had watched more of the series so I knew what there was to do. The only clue that I had was that boy-the one with the arrow on his head. He was the only key of what was inside this place.

We reached the hut and I stopped, inspecting it. True to the lady's words, it was a shabby little place, but I reminded myself that I needed to be grateful that I had been taken in by such kind people. I turned back to the other two, who smiled at me.

"This is it," Finn said, gesturing to the place. "I suggest that you start a fire right outside here-that's right, not too close. It gets very cold around these parts at night." I nodded, grateful at the words of his advice.

So, with one last glance and a small word of goodbye and a promise to check up on me before nightfall, I took a deep breath and turned on the hut. I walked inside, touching my hand against the bare straw. I took a deep breath, deciding that my first course of action should be to start that fire. I went back out and gathered a few small logs I saw scattered around the site, piling them all in a heap in front of the hut. I took a deep breath before I took a stick and began to rub it fast on another one. Never had I tried to do this-I had only seen it and read about it in books. I rubbed as fast as I can, blowing on the two sticks to add the needed oxygen, but it didn't seem to make any difference anyways. I sighed, setting both of the sticks down on the ground in frustration.

I sat down on my knees, feeling a bit of a bite in the air as the wind chilled at my sides. What was I going to do, and how was I going to actually get out of this place? The questions were hard to swallow down. Suddenly, I was angry. Why me? Why did it have to be me? In anger, I stood up and grabbed one of the logs, throwing it down on the ground hard, and plopping down and punching the ground.

My knuckles were sore now, caked in a bit of mud as well. But I didn't have eyes for the dirt, but instead of the logs. Somehow, when I had punched the ground, a flame had leaped up and started, now hungrily devouring the provided wood. Was this the bending that they had talked about? Was I a firebender? I remembered the woman's words about the Fire Nation, and I suddenly wondered what was to become of me if they were to find out about this little incident.

So I was a firebender?

It didn't take long for me to decide that this was to be kept as a secret. Silently, I crawled back into my hut and leaned against the wall. I was ashamed. Ashamed most of all that I was excited to find out how to control the strange powers. With wonder I snapped my fingers, hoping for a spark, a small sign that what had occurred wasn't pure coincidence. Nothing like this occurred, and I wondered if that really had happened.

But before long, I was visited. A small knock on the door and Finn was there, smiling as he walked up to me with two trays of food. He put one in front of me, and I looked at what was on it. Certainly not anything I had ever seen before.

"Usually the whole village eats near the main fire," Finn said, being friendly. "But since it's your first day here, I think it'd be okay if I just ate here with you." Finn began to eat the food with a smile on his face, and I immediately felt like a snob-why should I not like this food? Boldly, I grabbed a bit of whatever was on my plate and stuffed it in my mouth. Chew, swallow.

Gag.

Whatever the stuff was, it had to be the nastiest thing that I had ever tasted in my whole life. I started choking a bit before I finally got it down, looking over at Finn. "It's okay," I murmered, "I'm fine."

He still looked puzzled. "What? Haven't you ever had turtle duck before? Not really a delicacy, I can say, but honestly..."

I shook my head, letting my guard slip for a moment. "Turtle duck? No, I have never had something like that. Why would I have?" Finn looked a bit shocked at my words.

"It's quite common," he said, a little bit insulted by what I had said if anything. I bit my tongue. "Sorry...I may seem a bit odd to you. I'm not really from around here." Once again, I felt grateful to him as he didn't question where, exactly, I was from. Instead, he nodded and we ate in silence.

Hours later, I had ate and said good bye to Finn for the night. Or, rather, for what might be forever. I had decided that there was only one lead that I had, and that was something that I had to follow. I had decided to find the boy with the arrow on his head.

So as I packed what little I could find in my hut, I tried not to think about what I was actually doing. Appearing in the village, being given a place to stay, and then leaving in the middle of the night with no explanation. But even I had a sense of what a dangerous secret I possessed. From what I had gathered the fire guys weren't the greatest, and surely I would be judged the same way, and I couldn't risk that. Finishing, I sighed and pulled the small bag up that I had "borrowed" from someone in the village on my shoulder, quietly tip-toeing out of the hut.

From what I could tell, the whole village was asleep. Although I didn't know what time it was, I could see the moon was out and that it was quite dark. I guessed it to be around midnight of one am. Biting my bottom lip, I silently stalked through the rows and rows of huts, not believing my luck of meeting nobody on the way out. Taking a last sigh of relief, I finally reached the entrance that I had found by hiding from the soldiers earlier that very day, even though to me it seemed like a lifetime by now. I put my foot forward, but a voice startled me.

"So your leaving so soon?" The familiar male voice made me almost fall forward into the rocks, but I quickly righted myself, although I did turn a shade of red. Guiltily, I turned around and faced Finn, who stood with his arms crossed on his chest. He had a bit of a hurt look in his eyes, and I looked down at the ground. "It's okay," he said, noticing the way I was. "Here, it happens all the time."

I looked up at him. "You mean that people visit here all the time?" It was a small place, and I didn't imagine many people flowing through it. But Finn nodded. "All the time. They come and go. I never know why though," he said, biting his lip as he said this. Another wave of regret washed over me, but I bit my tongue and did not say anything. After a while, Finn looked up at me.

"Will you at least tell me why you're leaving?" He asked me. Part of me wanted to tell him so bad, but I just couldn't.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking away. "I can't. You wouldn't understand. I really don't understand anything myself." Finn seemed to be able to accept this, sighing.

"Well, stop by," he said. "Wherever you're going, if you ever come back, remember that we're here. Always." I smiled, nodding. "I will, promise." I stood there awkwardly for a moment. "Bye," I said.

"Bye," he said casually, and without another word, I turned around before I could stop myself and slipped through the small opening, out onto the deserted road. The soldiers I had encountered earlier were nowhere to be seen. But, for the first time since I had thought of my brilliant plan to track down the arrow guy, I realized a flaw. Where would I start? What would I be able to possibly accomplish? There were lots of questions in my mind, but it was just like me to wave them off as I decided to turn right, away from where I had fallen from, and begin trekking to who knows where in lands I had never seen before.

( So here is the second chapter, in all it's glory! Thanks for all the reviews you guys at least I know that some people are reading this...makes it a lot easier to continue with the story seeing as how I'm not just basically talking to myself and all. )


	3. Miss Bei Fong

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the original characters.**

Chapter Three

Miss Bei Fong

By midday the next day, I was already slumped over on a tree off to the side of the road a bit. I had no idea that a cartoon world could be so realistic, and I knew that if I ever did find a way back to my own world I would never take tv characters and all that they did lightly. Breathing deeply, I began to remember last night when I had been ungrateful for the turtle duck-and I moaned. Now I had no food whatsoever.

Closing my eyes, I wondered where the nearest village from here was, other then the hidden one I had just left. It had been small, and I supposed that no more then forty people could have lived there. Were there any major cities in this place? I took a deep breath, looking up and down the road. How was I ever going to be able to get anywhere? I stood up, trying to ignore the doubts as I began to walk along the same road.

It was nighttime when I had finally reached anywhere. I had been walking for a long time and I had almost decided to stop for the night and sleep on the side of the road, when an ark around the hill I was walking on leveled out from above and I saw a sight for sore eyes. A city, before my eyes. Lights, people-and what must be food. My mouth watering, I stumbled down the hill like a blind man, racing for the gates of the city. I stopped short, however, when I saw two guards posted out front. I hoped that they weren't like the others I had encountered when I had first appeared here. I decided to give it a chance, since they had different uniforms. Walking up to them, I was stopped as they both crossed spears in front of me.

They both stared at me, once again, like I was crazy. I was again reminded of the fact that I had on my pajamas, which made me turn red. "What is your name?" One of the guards asked me, his voice gruff. I put my chest out proudly. "I'm Luka. I'm here on business from the water tribe." I had decided to stick with the lie about the water tribe, learning it was a "tribe" not a "nation" from Finn's grandmother. The two exchanged glances.

"We weren't informed of visitors from the Water Tribe. For what do we owe this pleasure?" Raising my eyebrows, I opened my mouth but no sound came out. They both looked at me oddly. "Are you okay?" One asked, while the other scrutinized me.

"You see," I told them, voice faltering, "Well, the thing is..." my eyes widened as they both seemed to tense up. As this happened, my instincts kicked in and I rocketed myself in between the two, kicking at the ground with all of the force I could muster. The two of them laughed a bit, easily able to catch me in the air between them. I had to remind myself that these people could crush me, they were dangerous as could be. They probably had trained for years on the strange powers that they had, and so far I had been able to start a little fire. Once.

They stopped laughing however, once they had seized me and held me between the two of them. They both stared down at me now. "Okay look, little girl," they said, firm now. I bit my lip, wanting to lash out at them again. "I'm not little! I'm thirteen," I said, stressing the number.

"Yeah, whatever," the other said, rolling his eyes. "The point is that not just anybody can get into the city. You need a passport. So whatever business you have here, you better forget about it."

"Unless you somehow find a passport," the other added. They both nodded, which made me grit my teeth in anger. The two of them let go of me, pushing me out of the way once more. I grunted angrily, turning back and dusting myself off before turning on my heel and beginning to walk away. But I didn't plan to give up. Right as the two went back to their normal position, I scrambled back quickly, grabbing one by the shoulders and giving him a good kick to the groin, making him drop his spear. He grunted, using his hand to lean himself up against the wall.

The other was shocked, but quickly regained his balance as his two hands grabbed for me. I slipped past him, giving him a solid shove to the shoulders before dashing through the city. There were people all around me, whom I tried to weave in and out of, quite ungracefully actually. Not to my surprise, I soon hear a voice or two behind me chorusing, "Get her!" I continued running through the city. Multiple times I ran into other people, including one time I ran into a man in green attire and a green outfit who then promptly yelled , "My Cabbages!" I noticed what he meant when I tripped and fell on one of the green vegetables, landing flat on my face.

Steadily, I stood up and rubbed my back a bit before turning around, noticing the guards, and commencing running. Soon I noticed an alleyway which I slid into, peaking out to watch as the guards scrambled past. I laughed in spite of myself, although I stayed there for a few minutes. My patience soon ran out, though, and I walked out of the small crevice and into the streets.

It was different, for sure, from any sort of city in the real world. It was old-fashioned in a sort of way that I liked. There were no cars, just cobbles and people walking about. There were babies, there were adults, and there were some kids my age and a little younger and older. There were venders selling all sorts of things off to the side of the road, but out of all of this activity around me, it seemed as though there was one scheme that the place itself seemed to follow. Everything was green. Everything. A little yellow seemed to accent it on the roofs sometimes, or maybe a bit of red, but there was so much green it was hard to see anything else.

Even the people wore green. Robes, shorts, pants, skirts-green, everything. Wherever I was, I knew that they must have taken a liking for some green color schemes. I sauntered out into the open, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed me. Looking for something. Looking for anything.

Luckily enough, I soon found a bit of something that lifted my spirits. I had been able to have a bit of a "feast" off of the small cart of cabbages that I had remembered being knocked over, glad that at least I had heard of cabbages. Then I had looked around the place, hoping to stumble on a place where I could once again "borrow" something that I could wear to make it so that I didn't stand out. Right now, I was a sore thumb.

After a bit of hunting I had come to the outskirts of the city, and I had found myself gawking up at a beautiful mansion. Never before had I seen anything like it-it was huge, and a huge courtyard of hedges and flowers only made it a grander site. I slipped past the edges of it, peering through the bushes, hoping for a better glance at the place. I was soon surprised to see my view covered, however, by a patrol man. I held back a squeal as I lunged backwards, sighing with relief when he passed on without noticing anything. I took extra caution as I crawled around the edges of the place, peeking through the hedge every now and then.

And then I saw it. It was amazing, hanging up right there for the taking. Clotheslines, all across one part of the yard, clothes flapping in the wind and hanging to dry. It was amazing. Even though it was nighttime, I could tell from this distance that they were green, which meant that by wearing them I would blend in perfectly. Of course the owner of this mansion wouldn't mind me snatching a few...

So I tip-toed from where I was to the clotheslines, happily looking around for the right selection for me. There were a lot to choose from. I looked around until I spotted something perfect. I crept towards a robe, brighter green with yellow trim around the edges. It was beautiful. I smiled, hands on top of the line to take it down-

"Your just going to take it?" I slapped my hands over my mouth as I whipped around. The voice was small in a way, and I saw that the one who spoke it also was. She was about my age, a dress on that was flapping in the wind. She had black hair, cut pretty short around her face. And, when I looked into her eyes, I saw that they were quite hazy.

"Well, you don't understand the circumstances," I said, frowning a bit. The girl raised her eyebrows, and I saw what looked like a small smile even appear on her face. "Go ahead," she said, he voice sounding a bit less dainty. "You can take those. They're just the servant's wear anyways." I didn't know whether to be thankful or offended by this-the way she said it was a bit rude. But I decided it was better to take a positive look on it.

"Thanks," I told her, quickly undoing the pins holding it onto the line. "So who are you anyway?" The girl asked, watching my actions carefully. I wondered if she truly could see what I was doing. It was strange.

"I'm Luka. I've been trying to dump these strange clothes from the water tribe for a while so I could blend in." The girl snorted a bit. I frowned. "Is there something wrong with that?" I asked her defensively. She shook her head. "No, not really. It's just that it's obvious that you're lying. Your not water tribe," she said, pointing towards me as she said this. I blushed deep scarlet, turning away from her.

I quickly turned on her again. "Well who are you, then?" I asked hurriedly. "Here you are thinking that you're so important, well, who are you in the first place?" I almost yelled the last part, but she shooshed me. "Quiet down! They'll hear you." I felt a bit foolish at this, biting my lip. "I'm Toph," she told me. "I live here with my parents." The last part of the statement was said in a disgusted voice, which I didn't understand but decided to stay away from, as it seemed to be a touchy subject.

"Nice to meet you." _Sorta,_ I added, but only to myself. She closed her eyes for a second but then she opened them again, startled. "Go!" She commanded. "The guards are coming!" I didn't have much time to react or wonder how she could possibly know that, so I quickly darted behind a few bushes, almost immediately after that hearing voices.

"Miss Bei Fong!" A worried voice carried over the lawn as I hunched over. "Why are you out so late? You've driven your parents up the wall with worry! Come in this instant." There was silence for a moment. "Y-yes sir..." a voice trailed off. There was no doubt that that was Toph, but her voice had lost all confidence and spunk it had had earlier. Now she sounded innocent and helpless, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was how she truly was, or if she truly was how she was with me.

I clutched the robe from the line, staying still in the darkness for a while before I got up and cautiously headed away from the lawn, trying my hardest not to make a sound. I made it off of the estate, soon finding myself back in the city streets. It was darker by now, and I realized that my eyelids were drooping down, egging me to just lay on the streets and fall asleep. But I knew I had to fight the urge. I kept walking until I found an inn, where I was given a place to stay after I gave the innkeeper my usual story.

As far as it goes, I am a thirteen year old girl from the water tribe, my name is still Luka. I'm here because I got separated from my parents by the fire nation, and now I'm looking for them. It's a good story as far as I know-if only I knew what a single word of it truly meant. As I laid down in my bed and closed my eyes, thoughts flooded in on me. Why was I here? How was I going to get out? Who was I? And Who was the boy in the iceberg?

But the blanket of doubt and question soon faded away, as I was wrapped instead in the warm feeling of comfort, and easily drifted off to sleep.


	4. Earth Rumble Six

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the original characters.**

Chapter Four

Earth Rumble Six

When I awoke, I felt well refreshed. I had almost forgotten what sleep really felt like, going so many days without it. But now, rested, I was ready. On my way out of the inn, the innkeeper forced upon me breakfast, which although still consisted of the nasty food from this world, I ate appreciatively. I thanked the innkeeper once more before backing out of the place.

The streets were even busier than before, double the amount of people all around the city as I had seen the night before. I was glad that I had taken the time that morning to change into the robes I had gotten from Toph, because I knew that I would still stick out now if I hadn't. In fact, I had been able to actually get caught up a but on my personal grooming. I had been able to take a warm bath, and comb my hair, which had been full of dirt before. Now I felt clean and refreshed, completely ready to take on the events of the day.

I walked headfirst into the hustle and bustle of the city, not knowing where to start. For all I knew, the boy from the iceberg could be here in this very city. So I decided that, since I was here, I might as well look around. And so I began to look around for him, even beginning to stop some people, pulling them aside and asking them, "Excuse me, have you possibly seen a young bald kid with a blue arrow atop his forehead?" Some stared at me with bizarre looks before leaving, others at least kept to their manners and apologized, telling me they didn't know where he was.

By the time that I was about ready to give up on the place and move on to who knows where, I saw quite a large building with an open, circular doorway. I raised my eyebrows, reading the words atop the place: Master Yu's Earthbending Academy. I watched as a few excited boys laughed and smiled as they ran into the place, which peaked my curiosity. I couldn't help but go take a look.

Peering in through the doorway, I watch a line of people all around my age and older lined up, facing another line almost exactly like this. They held firm positions across from each other, until one of the sides moved from their stances suddenly. I almost gasped when each of them sent earth hurtling towards the person opposite them. I was relieved to see that most of them managed to stop the earth, putting it back in the ground. But there was one who wasn't so fortunate.

"Ooooooh!" A yell rang out as a rock hit one boy in the stomach, sending him backwards towards two other figures, who's eyes widened. The two of them looked familiar, but from where I couldn't tell. They scrambled to him, pulling him out of the ground and out from underneath the rock. He dazedly stood up, and it seemed as though quite a few people were staring at him. The three turned to each other, and they began talking. I wished suddenly that I was close enough to hear what they were talking about, but all I saw were their mouths moving.

After a bit, they all left the place, and I backed out of the doorway into the shadows as they passed. The one who had been knocked down was wearing a hat on his head, and the other two stood out because they broke the color scheme. They both had on blue clothing, which stood out from the normal green. It was then that I caught it.

As the one with the hat on his head tilted his head downwards just a bit, I noticed something. I noticed a patch of blue on the back of his head, running down. My breath caught in my throat-_could this be him?_ I recovered, starting to weave through the crowd fast as I could, but I began to lose them-they were traveling much faster then I could, and other people covered them from my view. After a while I realized that I completely had no idea where they had vanished, so I stepped out of the crowd and leaned on one of the buildings. Had I really seen him? I frowned to myself, looking down.

I noticed a piece of paper on the ground. I picked it up, curious. It had a picture of a burly man flexing his muscles. Underneath it said "Earth Rumble 6. Be there!" Then, under that, it gave directions from how to get there from the center of the city. I looked up again, eyes lingering over the bobbing heads of the crowd. Whatever this Earth Rumble thing was, it seemed like a pretty big deal to the people, so I decided that if anything I might as well take a break at the place. So, I read the directions before rolling up the bit of paper and starting to make my way to the "arena."

When I had finally arrived, the sun was high overhead in the sky. There was a constant stream of people filing into the front of the place, and I quickly followed behind them. Inside the arena it was dank and extremely dusty, and it had a strange, sweaty smell that made me wrinkle my nose just a bit. There were no lights on in the seats, although the main stage had a bit of light highlighting it. Currently, only one man stood on that stage.

There were people sitting high up in the stands, but nobody had taken the front few seats, which I found odd. Trusting their judgment, I took a seat in the middle, where still few dared to sit, but more then the very first rows. I sat like that for a while, head in my hands, wondering exactly what was in store for me. I sighed, closing my eyes, going deep into thought. It didn't last long though.

"Welcome to Earth Rumble Six!" Cam a loud yell that startled me. This was awarded with screams and hoots and hollers and cheers from all around me. I clapped a bit, smiling. "As always, I'm Xin Fu. Let's get to fighting!" He jumped backwards easily onto a ledge, which I found rather impressive, although I seemed to be the only one. "First up...The Boulder-" a deafening roar arose from the crowd as a man that I recognized from the flyer stepped onto the stage, grinning and waving to the people, "-versus Fire Nation Man!" The crowd booed as man stepped onto the stage. I noticed that he was quite fat. He smiled, seeming blissfully unaware of the negative attention he was earning himself. In his hand he waved a flag with a red background and what looked to be a picture of simple flame on it.

"And now..." a silence hushed the stadium, people leaning in to get every single word that Xin Fu said. "...It's time to rumble!" Another roar as the two men took their stances, each grimacing at each other. The Boulder made his first move, and it was quick.

With just one stamp of his foot, a ledge of earth jolted from the ground under Fire Nation Man and sent him flying under the stage. A bit of earth flew into the stands, narrowly avoiding a few people sitting down who seemed to be the only people brave enough to sit in the first row. I myself covered my face, even though it was only a few pebbles sprayed at me. I coughed a bit as I looked back at the stage, wondering how people would want to watch this every day.

I kept watching as The Boulder kept on fighting through the ranks. He seemed to easily be able to fight through all of them (although The Big Bad Hippo, who attacked by chewing rocks up and then spitting them at his opponent, gave him a bit of a run for his money)and I guessed that he was going to be the one to win.

"And now, Folks, what you have all been waiting for. It's time for The Boulder to face the one and only champion of Earth Rumble, The Blind Bandit!" There was a massive roar as I strained to see who was stepping onto the stage. A girl stepped out, a girl who looked maybe even just a bit younger then me.

"Toph," I whispered without thinking much. This blind Bandit-it couldn't be her, could it? I gripped the edge of my seat in shock. She held a huge belt over her head, and I knew. This must be her. But why was she here? If she really was blind and from the rich family, what business did she have competing in Earth Rumble? She looked so delicate, I bit my lip and crossed my fingers for her.

The two of them stood there for a moment, almost as thought they were talking, but then Toph made a sudden movement. She sent a chunk of earth flying at The Boulder, who was knocked down, but managed to get up. The two of them circled for a moment, before The Boulder punched the ground and sent a trail of ground at her. Jumping, Toph landed and sent The Boulder flying out of the ground. He landed with an "oof" out of the arena, which received many cheers and boos at the same time.

Xin Fu then walked back on center stage, lifting up a bag of gold coins. "And now...I will offer this bag of gold coins to anyone who wishes to take on the blind Bandit, and manages to defeat her!" There was silence after this. "What? Nobody?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. But then a voice broke through the silence.

"I will," said a voice. I looked over and saw him-the one who I thought had been the boy from the iceberg. I sat there for a moment, eyes wide, watching the two of them. And then, Toph once again made her move. I closed my eyes, figuring that it was going to end badly for him-but he easily dodged the attack, putting up his two hands. It was hard to tell, but as I looked closely I realized that out of his hands was coming a jet of air, powerful by the looks of it. I was amazed. I hadn't seen this type of bending before. Toph was knocked out of the ring, and confusion gathered over the crowd.

Then there were a few confused cheers as Xin Fu stepped onto the stage, dumbfounded. "We have our winner!" He said, surprised, as he held up the boy's hand. The boy smiled before glancing back. He must have seen something, because he wriggled out of the announcer's grasp and darted off the stage, where Toph had fallen. I cried out in alarm. No way was I going to lose him this time!

I jumped down the stands, two seats at a time, passing the two people that I had seen earlier. They stared at me-I agree, it probably looked like a strange sight, a girl jumping through the stands yelling. "Wait up!" I called. "Hey!" I jumped down and landed on the bottom of the stage, where the losers fell off. I ran around the edge desperately, panting all the way. I caught sight of the two of them-Toph was running away from arrow guy. He started to run after her as well, but he stopped as she disappeared through a door. He stopped right in front of me, shoulders, slumped, before he turned around gloomily-

THUD.

Not able to stop myself, I had fallen right on top of him. As this happened I moaned, rubbing my head, and he didn't say anything. I sat up groggily to see that his hat had fallen off and was laying on the ground a bit away. My eyes swam over to his forehead. There it was-the blue arrow. "Your him!" I said, sitting up entirely. He looked up at me with a strange expression, shaking his head before he gained consciousness. "W-What?" He scrambled out from under me, floating up to a standing position. "Who are you?" He asked me, confused.

"I'm Luka, but there's no time for that," I said, very rushed. "Who are you?" I asked him. Sure, I knew that he was from an iceberg, he had an arrow on his head, but nothing else came to mind other then that. He looked taken aback that I didn't know who he was. "I'm Aang," he said. "But I'm sorry, I really have to go. There's this girl-I need to catch up to her-" with that he began to run around me, away from me.

Was he talking about Toph? "Wait, come back!" I called, running after him again as well. Either he was ignoring me, or he hadn't heard me, because he didn't turn around. He kept his face forward, running away from me. Grimacing, I stopped for a moment to catch my breath before continuing to run after him. "W-wait! Come back! I can help you!" I slid on my heels, stopping right before running into him again. Toph had disappeared, although the rock wall in front of Aang was slightly shaking. I was panting as he fell to his knees, downcast. I figured that why ever he needed to talk to this girl, it must have been extremely important. "I blew it," he said, putting his face in his hands. I gulped. I was no good at comforting people.

"Hey, listen," I said lamely to him. "Look, I'm sure you'll see her again. I-I can help you." He looked up at this, a bit confused. "How are you going to do that?" He asked me, curiously.

"I met her the other day. I can help you-" I repeated this, "-only if you promise me something." Aang nodded enthusiastically, looking up at me. "Alright then. You have to promise me that I can travel with you and your friends to-to, well, wherever you guys are going." The request seemed to surprise him as he gently floated up onto his feet.

"Okay," he said firmly. I turned around and saw that his two friends were standing there by now, looking at Aang with questioning looks. He turned to them. "This is Luka," he said, turning to me just to make sure that this was, in fact, my name. "And she's going to be traveling with us." The girl stepped forward, a bit unsure.

"Are you...a bender?" She asked me, eying me. I shook my head. "I can't bend, but I'm from the water tribe."

Big mistake. "The water tribe?" The boy asked, suddenly excited. He seemed a lot more interested now. "I'm Sokka, and this is my sister Katara. We're also from the water tribe!" I faked a grin.

"That's...that's great," I mumbled.

"Now, it's time for your end of the bargain. Where is the blind bandit?"

( Thanks everybody for the alerts, favorites and reviews! They all mean a lot to me. Yeah, so Luka finally found Aang...this chapter isn't something I'm too proud of. Bits and pieces, yes, but as a whole, no...anyways, thanks for reading. )


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